a few good things

because joy is sacred

Dec 05, 2024

hello, my fellow yearners

It’s a weird time to be alive. I hope you can find some solace + strength in books—a place to imagine better worlds without all the horrid systems of oppression we face IRL. Between a literal live-streamed genocide and the political crisis here in the US, sometimes it feels weird to write about romance and kissing fae kings.

But pleasure has always been resistance, and there’s no reason we can’t talk about dismantling systemic oppression AND swoon-worthy love in the same book, is there? So I think that’s what I’ll do—what I’ll keep doing, no matter what my government throws at me. And I’ll do everything in my power to protect the Black authors that will undoubtedly bear the brunt of any (additional) book-banning legislation. If we stick together, we’ll make it through.

some wins, I guess?

It feels truly asinine to follow those two paragraphs with good things that have happened to me, but I’m doing it so you can practice the same for yourself. Hope is a discipline. Joy is a muscle. So, here goes:

The Fatebound Duology hit one million page reads a little while ago, which is truly incredible to me. I know this may not be a very big goal for a lot of authors, but for a hella queer book with a neurodivergent, 30-year-old, curvy FMC and an atypical fae king MMC with chronic pain … it’s amazing.

As a disabled person whose body is increasingly getting worse at staying alive, an author career is probably one of the few ways I can take care of myself and bring income into my household. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for allowing me to do that. For making this duology a fantastic foundation upon which to build a career.

Also, I’m an agented author now! Eric Smith of PS Literary (which represents Taylor Jenkins Reid, Mike Lee, Olivia Chadha and more) very kindly reached out to me to see if I’d like support. I’ve known Eric for a bit thanks to the small world of Philly bookish folks, and he’s an absolutely fantastic guy. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to get some extra support and career guidance without having to descend into the query trenches.

For now, nothing’s changed! Eric is mostly supporting me in subrights (i.e., getting my books published in other countries) and we’re seeing if trad pub has any interest in the duology, but that would be a long ways away even if someone wants it! I’ll keep you all in the loop <3

‘tis the season

If you celebrate this time of year with gifts, may I kindly beseech you to add signed hardcovers and/or merch of my books to your list? (Because financial support is good, but also I just really like when you folks make requests for me to scribble song lyrics, quotes, etc in your copies.)

If you’re ordering from my bookshop, The Spiral Bookcase, please note the order cut-off date is December 13th for any packages shipping domestically within the US to arrive for the holidays. So get those orders in! (Or just have a nice surprise come January, I suppose.)

because you read this far …

Here’s a sneak peek at something in the works. That’s all I’ll say for now—these lips are sealed! Enjoy this thing of glory by Bookish Averil.

and of course, thank you

It’s no exaggeration to say I wouldn’t be here with a million page reads, a literary agent, and an audiobook in the works without all of you. The way you’ve championed my books, recommended them to your friends, shared them on social media, created character art, and left lovely reviews … all of it means the world to me and makes an enormous difference.

Thank you for trusting me to tell you the story you needed to hear.